I was initially drawn here by their premium quality buffet, priced at S$28.80+ for lunch and S$32.80+ for dinner respectively.

Shi Jian Hotpot also offers an a la carte menu where you pay S$3 – S$10 per dish, on top of S$7.50 for the soup base.

Personally, I find the buffet style to be more value-for-money, given the amount of food that I eat.

Shi Jian Hotpot also offers a weekday set lunch at S$26.90+ that serves two pax, which is perfect if you can spare some time for long work lunches.

The first criteria I judge hotpot buffets by is the range and quality of the items available. I must say at this price point; Shi Jian Hotpot does not disappoint.

There was a wide range of vegetables, meats, and seafood available, all of which you could order off the menu.

You could even make your own sauces here, with the condiments available for you to mix and match from. I personally added garlic, chives, soy sauce and chilli oil together to create my own dipping sauce blend. Come down and find out what combination works well for you!

I was prompted by the friendly service staff to select my soup bases. At Shi Jian Hotpot, you’ll get to choose two bases to enjoy. I went for the Red Oil Spicy (S$7.50) and Pig Bone Soup (S$7.50), which were the recommended items on the menu.

Just to clarify, the Red Oil Spicy is actually a mala-based soup. They use beef fat here, but there is the option of going for the Vegetable Oil Spicy (S$7.50) which substitutes this for vegetable oil.

The Red Oil Spicy was really intense. Shi Jian Hotpot actually adds in a generous portion of Sichuan peppercorn into the soup base which added an astringent, numbing and toasty flavour that really packed a punch.

I could see dried chilli pieces as well as chilli seeds inside the base, and when coupled with the deep, crimson coloured oil, this soup base was a formidable opponent to overcome.

Opt for the medium level of spiciness as the extra spicy level will really numb your tastebuds.

The Pig Bone Soup was really enjoyable. There was actually a huge pork knuckle simmering in the soup, with the bone marrow helping to intensify and accentuate the umami, salty sweetness of the pork used.

This base pairs quite nicely with the majority of the items on the menu so it’s a pretty good option if you have friends who don’t take spice too well.

Some items I really enjoyed were the Handmade Mashed Shrimp (S$10 for 3 servings), which is served in a porcelain, bamboo-shaped container.

You actually need to scoop out the prawn paste into the boiling soup. If cooked right, you’ll end up with a delectable, springy and juicy morsel not unlike har gao.

The Spicy Beef (S$8) and Spicy Chicken (S$6) were surprisingly good too. Don’t be deceived by how simple they sound.

Even though they are simply sliced meat marinated in a numbing and spicy mala sauce, when cooked they are extremely tender, to the point of falling apart when I picked them up.

Each bite was juicy and flavourful. The meats actually absorbed some of the soup base’s inherent flavours, which enhanced the entire eating experience. My only regret was not ordering more!

More the more adventurous out there, Shi Jian Hotpot has items catered for your tastes. Take a bite of Pig Brain (S$8), Pig Aorta (S$8) or Fresh Tripe (S$8).

I’m personally not that adventurous but I did nibble at the Fresh Tripe. Texturally it was very interesting as I could feel every bump and groove of the stomach lining on my tongue. Flavour-wise, it didn’t impart any particular taste, but this could be due to the overpowering Red Oil Spicy soup base I cooked it in.

One item I didn’t particularly enjoy was the Beef Ball (S$5). I could tell that it was handmade rather than processed, which was a nice touch.

But in my opinion, it was packed too tightly to the point that it was a little too chewy when cooked. The beef flavours here aren’t as intense and gamey compared to the Spicy Beef, so that’s one area of improvement Shi Jian Hotpot could look at.

All in all, Shi Jian Hotpot manages to deliver authentic Sichuan hotpot at relatively affordable prices. They don’t skimp on the quality of the food, nor do they cut down on the range of items on the menu you can choose from.

Being a value-oriented consumer, I would rather eat here than some of the more exorbitantly priced hotpot chains in Singapore, as I’m able to get pretty much the same products at a much lower price.